MDC-T to enforce one man one farm policy

The MDC-T said it would maintain the land reform programme but vowed to "democratise" the process by slashing farm sizes owned as well as ending multiple farm ownership.

"Conference is very clear that there must be one farm per one household," said secretary general, Tendai Biti during the MDC-T's three-day policy conference underway in Harare.

"Conference is very clear that there must be one maximum size of farm per region. I think people were very clear that this business of owning farms that are 600 hectares huge is archaic and outdated."

This according to Biti, would be accompanied by the guarantees around security of tenure and the issuing of title deeds to all land owners irrespective of size.

The MDC-T further promised to build four million housing units during its first five years in office as well as address the perennial water supply problems in the Matabeleland regions.

"The issue of the Bulawayo water crisis, the Matabeleland water crisis should be resolved now; that is to say within the first 100 days of the Morgan Tsvangirai government and one project which must be initiated within that period is the withdrawal of the water from Zambezi in accordance with the Zambezi River Water Project," Biti said.

The MDC-T also promised free education for every child up to Ordinary Level, which according to Biti's presentation shall become "basic education". This shall be accompanied by free adult education.

The party also said it would maintain the current US dollar-dominated currency regime during its first five years in power if it forms the country's next government.

This was revealed Saturday by party "We need to be definitive with the issue of currencies and the macro-economic indices. And we are making it very clear that for the time period of 2013 to 2018, and MDC government will retain the use of the US dollar as its currency," Biti told hundreds of party delegates.

"So the output period 2013 and 2018, the MDC government will use the US dollar as the anchor currency and its currency of reference. So to put it very clearly, unambiguously, unequivocally, the MDC government will not return the Zimbabwean dollar between 2013 and 2018."

The Zimbabwe dollar was ditched in 2009 after being rendered virtually worthless by hyperinflation which peaked at 79,600,000% per month in mid-November 2008. The country has used foreign currencies since, mainly the US dollar as well as the Botswana Pula and the South African Rand.